Of Sergio Demuru
Make a square to maintain the category. We are now at the last lap. Cagliari, as a consequence of the colorless performance of Genoa and the relative defeat, risks calling everything into question after having opened a loan with a series of level performances against first-tier teams, which had led to the assumption that they had found the right team and allowed Ranieri to breathe a breath of fresh air, see advantage over third-last place.
At the moment Udinese is the team that occupies the last position that would be relegated, but the gap in favor of the rossoblù remains only three points. And with four rounds to go, with twelve points up for grabs, the games are on. At the Ferraris in Genoa, despite the absences which were not minor, we saw an attitude that was too compliant and submissive, which is worrying.
Team without references, with few ideas, at the mercy of their opponents for almost the entire match. A colorless evening, to be quickly forgotten. Cagliari has seen the ghosts of a past that seemed removed, forgotten in a double-locked drawer. A step backwards that is difficult to digest. The quality and organization of a Genoa team that played relaxed, without worries about the standings, suffered. The rossoblù competitive component, which should have been considered the main motivation, was not even remotely visible.
Lecce is the next obstacle, but what happened in Genoa is needed to understand certain conjectures and provide answers. In the last few days, after the internal confrontation with the Salento team, Cagliari will have to face two challenging away games, away to Milan and Sassuolo, to finish at the “Unipol Domus” with Fiorentina. A menu that is not exactly easy to digest.
For this reason the coach will have to try to restart the machine, appealing to the motivations that were lost in Genoa. The assets at stake are too important. Voltage drops must be banned immediately. The company has invested a lot to maintain the category and seeing certain performances makes even the most optimistic person faint.
It becomes essential to hit the whole ball against Lecce, another team that, like Genoa, has a virtually calm “status” with its thirty-six points. But that doesn’t mean he will be compliant. We need to rediscover the right spirit and determination. In this Ranieri showed himself to be a master in motivating his players. By recovering the greatest number of injured people. Especially in the defensive phase, where it is not easy to give up elements like Dossena and Mina, who make up for other shortcomings with their physicality. And in particular the Colombian, who has the right “leadership” to command the entire department.
